Affairs of the Heart
Written by Jayson Colin VascardiLegal Disclaimer: This is fiction and not
meant to imply anything about any of the celebrities mentioned herein. If you
are offended by material of a homosexual nature, or if such material cannot be
legally viewed in your area, stop reading this now. Otherwise, I hope that you
enjoy reading this work.
Email: JCVascardi@bsbnsync.com
Please include "Affairs" in the email subject line. All emails will be
answered.
ICQ: 53886549
My Website: http://www7.50megs.com/jcvascardiI also hang out in the #BoyBands channel a lot, using my middle name, Colin.

Previously

Ashley finishes talking to Kevin and
gives him the address of his apartment so that him, Kristin, and the others can
stop by and get to know the Smith family better. Ashley makes a pitcher of
raspberry lemonade, while Zach, Scott, and Kerr work on grading the midterm
exams for Zach's eleventh grade United States History class. It would seem, much
to Zach's displeasure, that his students didn't bother to listen to him for the
two weeks before the test when he told them to take their books home and study.
The majority of them must have also decided to goof off and not pay attention in
class on the three days before the test when Zach reviewed with them for the
test, considering that over half of them failed the midterm.

Zach is now faced with the fact that
if his students don't start buckling down more by the time comes for the final
exam, then he's going to have to fail over half the students, something which
Zach really doesn't want to have to do. Later, Kevin, Kristin, Brian, Lance,
Nick, JC, Justin, and Chris show up at the apartment. Zach tells them about his
job and his concerns about his students, and then they find out about Kerr and
Scott being a couple. Justin then tells Ashley, Kerr, Zach, and Scott about the
fact that Nick and JC are dating, and Brian and Lance are dating, much to
Kevin's initial displeasure, until that is Zach speaks up and tells him that
none of them would ever even consider telling the press.

After another hour or so of
chatting, and Brian and Lance helping Zach, Kerr, and Scott to finish grading
the midterm exams, everyone, minus Ashley, Diana, Kevin, and Kristin, head out
for a club to have some fun. After everyone else is gone, the conversation turns
towards Kevin and Kristin's as yet unborn twins, and whether or not they're
ready for parenthood yet. They all finally decide to go and do some shopping at
a new baby store which recently opened near Ashley's apartment, which happens to
be owned by Smith Industries Incorporated, the company of which Ashley and
Diana's father, Donald Smith, is Chairman of the Board.

Ashley and Diana inform Kevin and
Kristin that as the children of the Chairman, they both get 20% discounts at the
store, which they would gladly pass on to them. Since it's a nice spring day
outside, and it's only three blocks away, they all decide to walk to the store.
If only they knew what a mistake this would be.

Twenty minutes later, they're about half a block
away from the store, when suddenly someone screams, "Look out!", and
then...

BANG!!

Chapter 8

"Kevin, look out!" yells
Ashley as he pushes Kevin down to the sidewalk, "AHHHHHH!".

"Kristin! Look out!"
screams Kevin as he pulls downward on Kristin's hand as she falls downward with
Kevin.

"AHHHHHH!" screams Diana,
as she too falls to the ground in pain.

The car from which the shots were
fired speeds down the street. Observers tried to get the license plate number of
the vehicle, but instead of a license plate there was a cardboard sign saying,
"License Applied For".

Kevin sits up and finds blood on his
hand, he soon realizes that he was not shot, but Ashley was, and the blood is
from the gunshot wound to the lower back that he took. Now, one would think that
the second Kevin found someone laying across his legs with a gunshot wound that
he would be screaming for help. But Kevin remains quiet until he sees Kristin,
and suddenly screams out, "Oh my god!! Somebody call an ambulance!" as
he pulls Kristin into his arms and rocks her back and forth, as he tries to stop
the blood gushing from Kristin's forehead.

The sounds of sirens fill the air,
and soon, the paramedics, the police, and the fire department are all on the
scene helping out with the injuries, making sure that everyone is taken to
the nearest hospital, and collecting statements from witnesses.

About forty-five minutes later,
Diana Smith is released from the hospital, having only suffered a gunshot to the
shoulder, which was quickly treated. Diana hurries into the waiting room and
pulls out her cell phone, dialing Zachary's cell, praying to God that he will be
able to hear the phone ring.

"Hey, this is Zach."

"Zach it's me Diana."

"Diana are you okay? You don't
sound good."

"Zach, get the guys and get to
the hospital. Now!"

"The hospital? What's
wrong?"

"Never mind that. Come to the
emergency room. Just get here. And hurry up about it!" replies Diana as she
ends the call.

----

"Zach, is everything
okay?" asks Justin, as Zach ends the call.

Zach sits in the back of a limousine
along with Justin and the other guys that he joined to go out clubbing earlier.
They finished up at the club, and were now on there way back to Ashley's
apartment. Without answering Justin's question, Zachary quickly pushes the
button to lower the window between them and the driver.

"Driver, go to the nearest
hospital, the emergency room. And step on it."

"Yes, sir," replies the
driver as the window goes back up.

Everyone in the back to the car
looks rather shocked at Zach, but before any of them can reply, Zach says,
"That was Diana. She didn't tell me what was wrong, but I know from the
sound of her voice that something is wrong. She just told me to get you guys and
that we should get to the hospital immediately."

"Well, maybe Kristin had the
babies?" replies Justin, trying to bring a little hope into the silent car.

"No, I don't think it's that,
Just," replies Zach, "I'm not certain, but from the sound of Diana's
voice, and the fact that she said to come to the emergency room, I really think
this is something very serious, and not Kristin going into labor."

"Well, we're know soon
enough," replies Brian, as he hugs Lance.

"Should we call the
others?" asks Nick, knowing that they probably should get in touch with
Howie, AJ, and Joey, who had all opted to stay at the hotel, because they were
all tired.

"No, Nick. Let's wait until we
get to the hospital," replies JC, "First see how serious the situation
is, before we call them."

"That's a good idea,"
replies Chris, "No need to worry them unnecessarily until we know exactly
what's going on."

Soon the limousine comes to a stop,
and the driver opens the passenger door, as all of the guys get out of the back
and race into the hospital. Zach races over to the counter and was about to ask
the nurse what was going on, when he sees Diana, and races over to her.

"Oh my God, Diana what happened
to you?" asks Zach, noticing the bandaging and sling on Diana's right arm
and shoulder.

"There's been a shooting,"
replies Diana, "I was shot in the shoulder. I don't know how the others are
doing, but I don't think Kevin was shot."

"Here he comes now,"
replies Brian as he races over to his cousin, "Kevin, are you okay?"

Kevin doesn't say anything and just
goes over into the waiting room and sits down. Not wanting to push, knowing that
this must have been a very traumatic situation, everyone just goes over and
joins Kevin in the waiting room, praying that everyone else is okay. Soon two
doctors show up.

"Excuse me, but is one of you
Mr. Kevin Richardson?" asks one the doctors, as Kevin stands up and nods to
the doctor.

"This is part of the job that I
really hate. Mr. Richardson, I'm sorry, we did everything that we could, but
your wife, Kristin, is dead."

"NO!!!" yells Kevin, as he
drops to his knees, sobbing his eyes out, as Brian races over to comfort his
cousin.

"Mr. Richardson, I know this is
a lot for you to deal with," replies the other doctor, "But we need
you to sign this medical release."

"Why?" asks Brian.

"Well, as I'm sure you all
knew, Kristin was pregnant with twins. So while she is dead, we do have a chance of saving
the babies, so we need Kevin or a family member to sign the medical release so
that we can perform the cesarean section to try and save the babies."

By this time Kevin has totally
broken down and lays on the floor of the waiting room, curled up in a ball,
sobbing.

"I'm Kevin's cousin,"
replies Brian, "At the moment, I think that's the best you're going to be
able to do. I'd call Kevin's mother and have her come sign it for you, but she's
back home in Kentucky and she ain't going to be able to get here anytime
soon."

"Okay, yes, please sign
it," replies the doctor as he hands the release form to Brian, who quickly
signs his name, as one of the doctors runs of with the release in hand toward
the operating room.

"Okay, well, is there anyone
here related to an Ashley Smith?" replies the other doctor.

"Yes," replies Zach,
"I'm his brother, and this is our sister, Diana."

"How badly was Ashley
hurt?" asks Diana.

"Well, he's awake actually, and
asking for you both," replies the doctor, "So maybe you two should go
and see him."

"Lead the way," replies
Zach, as he and Diana follow the doctor out of the room.

As they reach the door to Ashley's
room, the doctor replies, "Now, I should tell you that your brother has
suffered a gunshot wound to the lumbar vertebrae and has been complaining that
he can't feel his legs. Now, it's to soon to tell whether or not the paralysis
is temporary or permanent, but I thought you might like to know."

"Thank you doctor,"
replies Diana, as she and Zach head into Ashley's room.

Ashley lies on the bed, screaming
and fighting against the nurses who are trying to tie his arms down to the bed,
"I can't feel my legs, damn it! I can't feel my legs!"

----

Meanwhile, back in the waiting room,
Brian continues to console Kevin, who is still crying his eyes out like there
was no tomorrow. Brian hands Lance his cell phone, and tells him to start calling
the family. Lance nods, and goes outside to make the phone calls so that Kevin's
sobbing isn't as audible.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Richardson?"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"This is Lance Bass, Brian's
boyfriend."

"Oh yes, how are you Lance? And
call me Anna."

"Not so good, Anna. Look, you,
Tim and Jerald should get down to the airport and get the next flight to New
York City."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, I probably shouldn't go
into it over the phone."

"What's wrong with Kevin?"
replies Anna, much more forcefully this time, as she is deeply concerned about
her youngest son.

"Well, physically he's
fine," replies JC, "But he's suffered from a very bad shock. Anna you
should probably sit down for this, Kristin is dead."

"What?! What happened?!"

"There was a shooting this
afternoon," replies JC, "I guess Kevin, Kristin, and two new friends
of ours, Ashley and Diana Smith were walking down to a new store that opened up
to do a little shopping and there was a drive by shooting. Kristin was shot in
the head, and she's dead."

"Oh my god," replies Anna,
as she starts to cry, "Of course, Tim, Jerald and I will be on the next
flight. I should probably call Jackie and Harold too."

"Don't worry about that, Anna,
just get to the airport. I'll call Jackie and Harold."

"Thank you so much Lance."

"It's okay, it's not a problem.
Now you just get up here as quickly as you can, so that you can be with your
son. He needs you."

After ending the call with Anna,
Lance quickly dials the number for Jackie and Harold Littrell. Jackie answers the
phone. Lance tells her what happened, and she says that her and Harold, and
Harold III, will be on the next flight out, and thanks Lance for telling her what
was going on.

----

Several hours later, Anna, Tim, and
Jerald are all on their way into the waiting room, and immediately at Kevin's
side. Zachary Smith sits in one corner of the room, and is not happy with Kevin.
Kevin stopped crying about an hour ago, having run out of tears, but since then
he has been able to do nothing but blame Ashley for Kristin's death. Diana is in
the chapel right now praying that Ashley doesn't end up paralyzed for life.
Brian and Lance are also in the room, and everyone else has gone down to the
hospital cafeteria for a bite to eat and to contact Howie, AJ, and Joey.

"Kevin, honey, how are
you?" asks Anna, as she pulls her son into a hug.

"I would be so much better if I
never heard the name Ashley Smith."

"Why's that?"

"Well, Jerald it's his fault
that Kristin is dead."

Upon hearing Kevin say that, Zach
jumps up out of his chair, and storms over to Kevin, looking ready to slug him.

"Shut the fuck up Kevin!"
shouts Zachary, "I am sick and tired of hearing you blame my brother over
and over for Kristin's death. I know you're hurting and that you feel the need
to blame someone, but Ashley is not the one to blame in this."

"Excuse me but who are
you?" asks Tim.

"My name is Zachary
Smith," replies Zach, as he calms down a bit, "I'm Ashley Smith's
fraternal twin brother. For the last hour all I've heard from Kevin is that it
is all my brother's fault that Kristin is dead and I'm tired of it. My sister
Diana and I had to have a security guard posted outside of Ash's room, so as to
prevent Kevin from going in. Kevin tried to beat Ashley up about half-an-ago. My brother
is now laying in a hospital bed after having a bullet removed from his back. A
bullet that he took saving Kevin's life. Now, it is very possible that Ashley
will be spending the rest of his life paralyzed from the waist down because he
jumped in front of Kevin and pushed him down to the sidewalk, shielding him from
getting hit, and all Kevin can do is sit here and blame Ashley for Kristin's
death. Not to mention trying to cause even further damage to my brother by
trying to beat him to a pulp."

"Kevin, you should be ashamed
of yourself," replies Jackie, as she comes into the room, having overheard
Zach's speech. She is followed by her husband Harold, and son Harold III.

"Yes, you should be,"
replies Anna, "Kevin I know you're hurting, but blaming , not to mention
trying to cause bodily harm to the person who
saved your life is ludicrous. I didn't raise you like that Kevin!"

"I have to be blame
someone!"

"Well how about you try blaming
the people who are responsible for the drive-by shooting? Instead of blaming the
person without whom, you'd be downstairs in the morgue with
Kristin," replies Tim, obviously not
very pleased with Kevin himself.

"Yes, I suppose you're all
probably right," replies Kevin, as he hangs his head, having known all
along that his actions were wrong, but not wanting to admit it to himself, "I'm sorry Zach,
I shouldn't be blaming Ashley, and if you'll let me, I will apologize to him for
trying to beat him up. Ashley can be my new best friend."

"I'm sure he'd like that,
Kevin," replies Zach, as he thinks, "You don't even begin to
understand how much he'd like that."

"Anyway, on a happier note, mom you're a
grandma."

"What?" asks Anna.

"You're a grandma,"
replies Kevin, "Kristin was pregnant when she died. We were going to wait
until we were in Lexington next week to tell you. We figured telling you in
person was better then over the phone. Anyway, the doctors were able to save
them."

"Oh my God, Kevin
congratulations!" replies Anna, as she pulls her son into another hug, as
all of Kevin's family members gather around him and start hugging him from all
sides.

The mood in the room is quite happy
right now, despite the very sad circumstances which have occurred. However, this
happiness it seems was not meant to last. For now Diana Smith has appeared in
the doorway of the waiting room, tears streaming done her face. Zach notices his
sister, and races over to her, as all eyes fall on them.

"Diana is something wrong with
Ashley?"

"No, there's no change in Ash's
condition."

"Then why are you crying,
sis?"

"I just got off the phone with
Mrs. Lansbury," replies Diana, referring to the housekeeper at the Smith
home in Middlebury, Vermont, "It would seem that dad suffered a massive
heart attack this afternoon."

"No, you're not telling
me..."

"Yes, Zach, dad's dead. Oh my
God, dad is dead!" screams Diana, as her tears only strengthen and Zach
wraps his arms around his younger sister, as he too starts to sob.

----

Diana and Zach sit in the corner of
the waiting room, holding each other and trying to comfort one another. As if it
wasn't enough that Ashley may never walk again, now their father is dead.
Kevin's eyes fall upon Zach and Diana, and he walks over to them, kneeling in
front of them.

"I'm so sorry for your
loss."

"Thanks Kevin, but with all do
respect, you don't have a clue what we're going through," replies Zach, who
is so upset right now that his mind isn't working right, or he would have
realized that Kevin knows exactly what they're going through.

Zach looks at Diana for a moment,
and then realizes his mistake, and lightly places his hand on Kevin's shoulder,
"Oh God, I'm sorry Kevin. I totally forgot that your dad is dead. I'm
sorry, like Diana said, I must not be thinking clearly."

"It's okay, Zach," replies
Kevin, after a moment, "You're hurting now, and I can understand that. I
wasn't really thinking very clearly after my dad died either."

"Well, at any rate, Diana and I
are now going to have to tell Ashley and Kerr that dad is dead," replies
Zach, "Which is going to be very hard. Ashley was always very close to dad,
and Kerr so wanted Scott to be able to meet his uncle."

"Well, I'm sure you were all
very close to your dad," replies Kevin, "From what you've told me and
the other guys about him since we met, he seems like he was a really cool
guy."

"He was, Kevin, he was,"
replies Diana, "And you're right, Zach and I were close to him, but not
like Ashley. Ashley and dad were so much closer to one another. If I didn't know
better, you could probably look at the two of them together and think that they
were lovers rather then father and son."

Kevin gives Diana a strange look,
which Zach notices and explains, "Kevin, dad was only 14 when Ashley and I
were born, and he's always looked much younger then he actually is. Next month
he would have been celebrating his 41st birthday, but he looked more like he was
31. So, with the extreme closeness that Ashley and dad have always had, people
have actually mistaken them for a couple before, because while the family
resemblance is very strong in Ash and I, you can hardly even tell by looking at
Donald Smith and then us that we're his children. We look much more like our
mother then dad."

Kevin nods his head, though he still
looks like he isn't quite comprehending what Diana and Zach mean when they say
"extreme closeness." Diana, who has always been very good at reading
people, sees that Kevin is still a bit confused, and quickly reaches over and
grabs her purse. From within it, she pulls out a small pocket-size photo album,
and opens it up to one page in particular.

"Kevin, this photo was taken at
the annual Smith Industries Halloween party about three years ago," replies
Diana, "As you can see, Ashley and dad are very close."

Kevin looks at the picture and sees
two men, wearing a two-headed person costume, and Ancient Roman style clothing.

"Ash and dad had forgotten to
go to the costume shop and reserve costumes," replies Zach, as he knows
what picture Diana is showing to Kevin, "So the only costumes they had left
were a two-person horse, or the Roman god Janus, the God of Gates, Doors,
Beginnings and Endings. Now technically, Janus didn't have two heads, he had one
double-faced head, but oh well. You can still tell from the picture how close
Ash and dad were. Now, Kevin, I don't mean to offend or hurt you, but do you
honestly think that you were close enough to your dad, that the two of you would
go out in public dressed like that?"

"No," replies Kevin,
rather quickly, which makes Diana and Zach both laugh a bit, "I mean don't
get me wrong, I loved my dad very, very much, but I don't think I was ever close
enough to him to wear a two-headed costume with him. Though my brother Jerald
and dad may have been close enough for that, I don't know. Jerald was always
very close to dad, being named after him and all. So what did you two go as to
this party?"

"Diana and I wore our figure
skating outfits, minus the skates of course."

"Figure skating outfits?"

"Yes, Kevin. Zach and I, as
well as Ashley, know how to figure skate. One of our teachers tried to convince
us to try for the Olympics, but we never did. Zach and Ashley do a pair routine
together, I have a pair routine with both of them, and we've also done a trio
routine together."

"Wow, that's cool,"
replies Kevin with a smile.

"Here actually this is a
picture of Ashley and Zach doing there routine," replies Diana, as she
turns a page in the photo album to reveal Zach and Ashley wearing matching blue
outfits, with black and blue sequins all over them. In the picture, Ash has Zach
lifted up over his head.

Zach, Diana, and Kevin continue
talking for several minutes, until that is Kerr and Scott walk into the room,
smiling. The smiles quickly fade from their faces however, when Zach and Diana
look up at them, both of their faces covered with the "I've got very bad
news" look.

----

The security guard posted outside of
Ashley's room nods his head as he allows the woman to pass, and enter into
Ashley's room. The middle-aged woman takes her wallet back from the guard, after
having to show him some identification, and then enters the room to see Ashley
laying there, staring off into space. His arms are tied down to the bed, and
it's quite obvious that he's been crying a bit.

"Hello."

"Oh, um, hi," replies
Ashley, as he comes out of his daydreams, "Do I know you?"

"I'm Jackie Littrell, Brian's
mother, and Kevin's aunt," replies Jackie with a smile as she comes over
and sits down next to Ashley's bed, "I just thought that I'd stop by and
thank you for saving my nephew's life today."

"A lot of good it did,"
replies Ashley, "I may never walk again because of it, and all Kevin can do
is blame me for Kristin's death. Not to mention coming in here and trying to
beat me up. Oh God, this is not how I dreamed it'd be like meeting Kevin."

"Well, Kevin isn't blaming you
anymore," replies Jackie as she grabs Ashley's hand, "In fact he'll
probably be coming in here to apologize for everything. Not to mention thanking
you for saving his life."

"Well, I'd like that, I really
would, but I'll believe it when I see it," replies Ashley, as he looks
downward, "It really hurt me when he started yelling at me that it was all
my fault. Hearing that coming from the man that I lo..."

Ashley stops himself abruptly when
he realizes that he was about to tell Kevin's aunt that he is in love with
Kevin. Unfortunately for Ashley, Jackie is a very perceptive woman, and
immediately knows what Ashley was going to say, not to mention the fact of why
Ashley risked his own life to save Kevin's.

"I know it must have been hard,
Ashley," replies Jackie, "But trust me, Kevin is a really good guy.
He's just hurting right now. He just lost his wife, so I'm sure you can
understand how Kevin must feel. Think how you would have felt if Kevin had died
in that shooting. You would have lost a person that you love, and that is very,
very hard."

"How?" is all Ashley
manages to get out, being almost completely at a loss for words trying to figure
out how Jackie had realized his feelings for Kevin.

"Well, it makes sense,"
replies Jackie, with a smile, "I was wondering why you would risk your life
to save Kevin, a man that you'd only known for a short time. Then when you
started to say "the man that I love", I knew why. It's okay Ashley,
there's nothing wrong with expressing that love."

"So you mean it doesn't make
you uncomfortable hearing a guy saying that they love your nephew, in a romantic
way?"

"I don't see why it should. I
hear Lance say it to my son Brian all the time. Yes, they're together if you
didn't already know. Been together now for a little over a year, and I can see
that Lance makes Brian a very happy man, and that is all I ever wanted for him.
And that goes for Kevin too. However, Ashley, I'm not going to say that there's
no chance that you and Kevin might be able to get romantically involved, because
to tell you the truth, I've always thought that he might be bi-sexual. But, I
have to ask that you not pressure him into anything, or actually even tell him
about your feelings for him. I can't be sure if he really is bi-sexual or not,
and he is in mourning now for Kristin, and I do know that he loved her very
much."

"I understand what you're
saying, Mrs. Littrell. I'm not going to pressure Kevin into anything. I've been
in love with him from afar for over a year now, so it won't kill me not to tell
him how I feel. And I would never even think about coming onto a man whose wife
just died. I like to think that I have just a little bit more class then
that."

"I'm sure you do Ashley,"
replies Jackie with a smile, "And if you call me Mrs. Littrell one more
time, I'm going to have to slap you. It's Jackie."

"Okay, Jackie," replies
Ashley, as he too smiles, having, at least temporarily, forgotten that he has no
feeling from the waist down.

----

"I'll leave you all
alone," replies Kevin, as he stands up and leaves the room.

As soon as Kevin is gone, Diana
motions for Kerr and Scott to sit down, which they do, before Kerr asks,
"Is something wrong with Ashley?"

"Nothings changed on that
front," replies Diana, "He still can't feel his legs."

"Well, there's something else
wrong then, isn't there?"

"Yes, Kerr, there is,"
replies Zach, "Mrs. Lansbury called. She's the housekeeper at the house in
Middlebury. Oh God, there's no easy way to say this, but father suffered a
massive heart attack earlier this afternoon. He's dead."

"What?" replies Kerr,
taken aback by this information, "Uncle Don is dead?"

"Yes, Kerr," replies
Diana, "I don't really want to believe it, but he is. I called the hospital
earlier and they confirmed that he was rushed in by an ambulance, and that he's
dead."

"Oh God, no," replies
Kerr, as he starts to cry, as Scott pulls Kerr into his arms, gently rubbing his
back, "He was still too young to die. I so wanted Scott to meet him
too."

"Yes, I know you did,"
replies Zach, "Anyway, at some point we're going to have to tell
Ashley."

"He doesn't know yet?"
replies Kerr, as his head flies up in shock, "Oh God, he's going to take it
harder then all of us times a million!"

"Yeah, I know," replies
Diana, as she looks down to her lap, "But, he does have a right to
know."

----

"Ashley?"

Ashley turns his head, as does
Jackie, when Kevin walks into the room.

"Hi Kevin," replies
Ashley.

"I just wanted to come and say
that I'm sorry for blaming you for Kristin's death. I had no right to do that. I
also wanted you to meet two people who are especially grateful to your for
saving my life."

This said, Kevin opens the door to
the room, and a nurse wheels in two baby cradles, and places them near Ashley's
bed, so that Ashley and Jackie can see Kevin's sons.

"They're especially grateful to
you, because if it wasn't for you, they'd have no parents right now,"
replies Kevin, as he comes over and sits down on Ashley's bed, pulling him into
a hug, and whispering in his ear, "I'm very grateful too."

"So have you thought of names
yet, Kevin?"

"Well, Aunt Jackie, yes, I
have," replies Kevin with a smile, as he picks up one of the babies, and
hands him to Ashley, who carefully takes him into his arms. Kevin then takes the
other baby and holds him in his arms.

"So what are they?" asks
Jackie, as she looks over at Kevin's beautiful baby boys.

"The one that Ashley is holding
is Jordan, and this one is Jeremy," replies Kevin, "And before anyone
asks, I have also got middle names picked out too."

"You're giving them both my
name?" asks Ashley, who is more then a little shocked.

"Yes, Ash, it's the least that
I can do. As I said, if it wasn't for you, these guys wouldn't have parents.
Kristin and I had picked out Jordan Scott and Jeremy Thomas if we had boys, but
I decided to add Ashley to both of their names, to further express my gratitude
to you."

"I don't know what to
say," replies Ashley, as he looks down at the two babies in his and Kevin's
arms.

"Say that you'll stand up at
their baptism as their Godfather," replies Kevin, with a smile, as Jackie
smiles at her nephew, being very proud of him at this exact moment.

Ashley looks at Kevin for a moment,
and then replies, "It would be an honor, Kevin."

"Good, because I wasn't going
to take no for an answer."

"I'll just leave you two alone
now," replies Jackie, as she smiles at the four of them, before getting up
and leaving the room.

Shortly after Jackie leaves, Kevin
looks deep into Ashley's eyes for a moment. Before he even realizes what he's
doing, Kevin leans forward, and presses his lips to Ashley's, gently kissing
him.

----

To be continued...

So what did ya'll think? I hope,
that despite some of the very sad elements of this installment, that you enjoyed
the story. I will try to get another installment out as soon as possible, though
it probably won't be until January, because the holiday season is really taking
up my time at the moment.